Privacy Policy

About your privacy

At Mardon Insurance (as defined below), your privacy is, and always has been, very important to us. We are committed to providing you with exceptional service while protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal information, and maintaining its accuracy, confidentiality and security.

In this regard, Mardon Insurance has developed this Policy in compliance with British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act, S.B.C. 2003, c. 63 (“PIPA”), which came into effect on January 1, 2004. The PIPA sets out how British Columbia businesses and not-for-profit organizations may collect, use and disclose personal information. Mardon also has adopted privacy principles based on the federal statute, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5 (“PIPEDA”). We will inform our clients of why and how we collect, use and disclose their personal information, obtain their consent where required, and only handle their personal information in a manner that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.
Mardon reserves the right to modify or supplement this Policy at any time. We encourage you to periodically review this Policy to be informed of how Mardon is protecting your information.

Scope of this Policy

This Policy applies to Mardon Insurance Brokers Ltd., Mardon Insurance Brokers (Coquitlam) Ltd., Mardon Insurance Brokers (Surrey) Ltd., Mardon Insurance Brokers (Vanguard) Ltd., Mardon Insurance Brokers (White Rock) Ltd. and Mardon Group Insurance Services Ltd. (collectively referred to in this Policy as “Mardon”, “we” or “us”) and to the use of the Mardon website, the home page of which is located at www.mardoninsurance.ca. This Policy also applies to any service providers collecting, using or disclosing personal information on behalf of Mardon.
The Site may contain links to other third party sites that are not governed by this Policy. Although we endeavour to link only to sites with high privacy standards, our Policy will no longer apply once you leave this Site. We are not responsible for privacy policies employed by third parties. We suggest, therefore, that you examine the privacy statements of those sites to learn how personal information may be collected, used and/or disclosed.

Contact information – means information that would enable an individual to be contacted at a place of business and includes name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business email or business fax number. Contact information is not covered by the PIPA or the PIPEDA.

Collection of Your Personal Information

Collecting personal information about you is essential to our being able to provide the products and services that best meet the needs of both yourself and/or such parties as are authorized by you. While the personal information we collect may come directly from you, it may also be provided by third parties (such as employers, insurance companies, insurance brokers or agents, credit organizations, motor vehicle and driver licensing authorities, financial institutions, medical professionals, etc.). Unless the purposes for collecting personal information are obvious and you voluntarily provide your personal information for those purposes, we will communicate the purposes for which personal information is being collected, either orally or in writing, before or at the time of collection. Personal information may be used:

• To determine eligibility for products and services;
• To process applications for clients, and provide requested information, products or services;
• To understand and assess clients' ongoing needs and offer products and services to meet those needs;
• For billing and accounting services relating to our products and services;
• For client communication, service and administration;
• For claims administration;
• For internal, external and regulatory audit purposes;
• To comply with legal and regulatory requirements;
• To share or exchange reports and information with credit reporting agencies, credit bureaus, and other persons, corporations, firms, and enterprises to verify the accuracy of personal information;
• For other purposes, subject to obtaining clients’ prior consent for such use.

Consent

We will obtain client consent to collect, use or disclose personal information (except where, as noted in this Policy, we are authorized to do so without consent).

Consent can be provided orally, in writing, electronically, through an authorized representative, or it can be implied where the purpose for collecting, using, or disclosing the personal information would be considered obvious, and the client voluntarily provides personal information for that purpose. If you need to provide personal information about other individuals (such as employees, dependents, a spouse, etc.), you must obtain their consent for these purposes prior to your disclosure to us.

Consent may also be implied where you are given notice, and a reasonable opportunity to opt out, of your personal information being used for the marketing of new services or products, and you do not opt out.

When you request services from us, we ask that you provide information that enables us to respond to your request. In doing so, you consent to our collection, use and disclosure to appropriate third parties of such personal information for the purposes set out above. You also authorize us to use and retain this personal information for as long as it may be required for these purposes. Your consent remains valid even after the termination of our relationship with you, unless you provide us with written notice that such consent is withdrawn.

Subject to certain exceptions (e.g., the personal information is necessary to provide the service or product, or the withdrawal of consent would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation), you can withhold or withdraw your consent for Mardon to use your personal information in certain ways. Your decision to withhold or withdraw consent to certain uses of personal information may restrict our ability to provide a particular service or product. If so, we will explain the situation to assist you in making the decision.

We may collect, use or disclose personal information without a client’s knowledge or consent in the following limited circumstances:

• When the collection, use or disclosure of personal information is permitted or required by law;
• In an emergency that threatens an individual's life, health, or personal security;
• When the personal information is available from a public source (e.g., a telephone directory);
• When we require legal advice from a lawyer;
• For the purposes of collecting a debt;
• To protect ourselves from fraud;
• To investigate an anticipated breach of an agreement or a contravention of law.

By using the Site, you consent to the data and collection practices described in this Policy and in the Website Legal Terms and Disclaimer of Mardon, which may be accessed at the following link: Website Disclaimer

Using and Disclosing Personal Information

We will only use or disclose client personal information where necessary to fulfill the purposes identified at the time of collection, the purposes set out above or set out in the Website Legal Terms and Disclaimer, or for a purpose reasonably related to those purposes. We are not in the business of selling client lists or personal information to others. In providing our services, we may need to disclose the personal information we collect to affiliates, successors and other service providers or agents who perform various functions for us (such as underwriters and claims adjusters). As Mardon continues to develop and grow, we may buy or sell parts of a business. As our businesses consist primarily of client relationships, information regarding the particular accounts or services being purchased or sold could include personal information and be one of the transferred business assets. We may also use personal information to assess your future needs and to offer the products and services that may best meet those needs from us, our affiliates or reputable organizations selected by us. If you do not wish to receive these offers or such information, please contact in writing one of our Privacy Officers as set out below. We will not use or disclose client personal information for any additional purpose unless we obtain consent to do so.

Retaining Personal Information

If we use client personal information to make a decision that directly affects a client we will retain that personal information for at least one year so that the client has a reasonable opportunity to request access to it. Subject to the foregoing, we will retain client personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the identified purposes or a legal or business purpose.

Ensuring Accuracy of Personal Information

It is important that your personal information is accurate and complete. Having accurate information about you enables us to give you the best possible service. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that client personal information is accurate and complete where it may be used to make a decision about the client or disclosed to another organization. We rely on you to keep us informed of any changes such as a change of address, telephone number, or any other circumstances. Simply contact one of our customer service representatives or account managers to access, verify or amend the information we have about you.

You may request correction to your personal information in order to ensure its accuracy and completeness. A request to correct personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information and the correction being sought. If the personal information is demonstrated to be inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct the information as required and send the corrected information to any organization to which we disclosed the personal information in the previous year. If the correction is not made, we will note the correction request in the file.

Securing Personal Information

We are committed to ensuring the security of client personal information in order to protect it from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal or similar risks. Security measures have been integrated into our design, implementation and day-to-day operating practices as part of Mardon’s continuing commitment to the protection of personal information held by it. We employ physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect our systems and all personal information under our control against unauthorized access and use. All safety and security measures are appropriate to the sensitivity level of the information collected. We use appropriate security measures when destroying a client’s personal information. We will continually review and update our security policies and controls as technology changes to ensure ongoing personal information security.

Providing Clients Access to Personal Information

Clients have a right to access their personal information, subject to limited exceptions as authorized by the PIPA and the PIPEDA. A request to access personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information being sought. A request to access personal information should be forwarded to one of our Privacy Officers. Upon request, we will also tell clients how we use their personal information and to whom it has been disclosed, if applicable. We will make the requested information available within 30 business days, or provide written notice of an extension where additional time is required to fulfill the request. A minimal fee may be charged for providing access to personal information. Where a fee may apply, we will inform you of the cost and request further direction from you on whether or not we should proceed with the request. If a request is refused in full or in part, we will notify you in writing, providing the reasons for refusal and the recourse available to you.

Questions and Complaints

Mardon has designated individuals to act as Privacy Officers, responsible for ensuring compliance with this Policy, the PIPA and the PIPEDA. Clients should direct any complaints, concerns or questions regarding Mardon’s compliance in writing to a Privacy Officer. If the Privacy Officer is unable to resolve the concern, you may also write to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. The Mardon Privacy Officers may be contacted as follows: